Yup, and the forum read article shading as well; I've just spent a half-hour going through the forum postings reading all entries since the time I last accessed them, to put the shading right. Could someone who uses the 'Sync read to server'/'Get read from server' confirm if that helped and would have saved me doing it manually? I never thought of them until I'd finished.

My first indication of the change was when I drag-dropped a link for a recently completed story on my general-purpose 'do something' drop target, and instead of it identifying it as an SOL story link and adding it to my queue of such story IDs, it complained with a pop-up dialogue saying 'I don't know what to do with this URL'. I'm now going to have to go through all my SOL-related scripts and check that this change doesn't break anything - I bet it does somewhere in the 'download this' area. At least I know that a new https link given in these forums, when I D&D it, will note 'that's in the queue already' or 'that's downloaded already' as appropriate, without being confused by the change of URL.

A click on the tick above the green dots in the forum post list will mark them all read for you. So simply identify the most recent unread posts then click on the tick or check mark to make the rest show as read.

simply identify the most recent unread posts then click on the tick or check mark to make the rest show as read.

...which is effectively what I did, but instead of messing with the check mark/green dots, I scrolled back from the end of each thread in turn to find the first post after about 17:30 on the 29th (approx local time of my last visit) and just read them as normal. The individual green dots were all turned on by the URL change so didn't give useful info, but I only use the 'All Threads by Date' forum, so once I'd read all the new stuff there was no need to mess with the green dots.

BTW, EB: do you use the inherent scripting capabilities of Zorin Linux, or are you just using it as a MSWin substitute?

BTW, EB: do you use the inherent scripting capabilities of Zorin Linux, or are you just using it as a MSWin substitute?

Up until ten days ago I was simply using Zorin as the OS and using the capabilities within Chrome and FireFox for what I was doing on the Internet. However, some changes to Chrome stopped my system from being able to apply certain security measure in Chrome which I was using as my main browser. Then when the problem expanded to the point I wasn't able to access Netflix, SoL, and a couple of other sites without turning off most of my security measures I let my son downgrade me to Win 10 Pro so I could access those sites without having to turn off my security. The issue seemed to be related to changes in the way Chrome operated and the way Netflix operated.

Downgrade... good one.
But the worst thing you could to if security is important is using Windows. And you know Chrome == Google? Again, not the best choice if security is important.
I stick to Debian (Last Stable) with Firefox and have it locked down pretty strong. There's nothing I can't do and if a site requires me to unlock too much I simply ignore the site and never go back. So sometimes I can't use a site but that is the price you pay nowadays if you want too keep some illusion of privacy.

But the worst thing you could to if security is important is using Windows. And you know Chrome == Google? Again, not the best choice if security is important.

I agree, but a few of the websites I visited a lot had major changes and I had no choice because they made it impossible to use Firefox on Linux when they made changes to their site. The two most used by me were YouTube and Netflix - the changes meant they didn't play well with a Linux system, especially when you use a VPN as well. I could get them to work by turning off the VPN and some of the ad blocking and anti-scripting software, but even then it was a degraded image.

As someone using old technology, I'm relieved I can still access the site. The number of sites returning 'no security protocol in common' is inexorably increasing.

Sadly, for many of us leasing web-hosting services, those sites aren't offering the same features, so our users are now struggling with 'security warnings' anytime they attempt to access our webpages. :(

Ah I see. I don't watch TV/Netflix, not for a long, long time. YouTube should work though. Although I try to avoid it as much as possible, in the rare occasion that I do it works just fine with still a lot of Google blocked.
From what I read Netflix blocks VPN traffic because it bypasses regions, something the big boys in the entertainment industry don't like.

Ah I see. I don't watch TV/Netflix, not for a long, long time. YouTube should work though. Although I try to avoid it as much as possible, in the rare occasion that I do it works just fine with still a lot of Google blocked.
From what I read Netflix blocks VPN traffic because it bypasses regions, something the big boys in the entertainment industry don't like.

I was using YouTube on both Chrome and Firefox on Linux and I found that videos where I had download interruptions on Firefox didn't have any issues on Chrome - imagine that. However, if you want to save a video there are major issues trying to do so from Chrome and none of the current save apps for FF work in Linux. As to Netflix, there is a special Netflix VPN link you can use, but it only works in Win 10 right now.

Most people aren't savvy enough to understand the difference and everybody has been conditioned to trust google. So when google chrome displays a warning for a site, people stay away from it. Which basically means that if storiesonline doesn't move to https, we risk losing a large chunk of visitors. Storiesonline has had https where it's needed (log in, user preferences pages, payments) since 2000. Now it has to be on every page, or else.

If I saw a message the site was insecure, I would leave not knowing what that means. "Insecure" is a scary word on the Internet.

Sorry, having accessed several sites to get bypasses or workarounds on multiple application problems, I've encountered this multiple times. I regularly have to 'step around' this kind of limitation. If you trust the site, then you can generally trust that they stay on top of things. As Lazeez says, the latest broo-ha-ha is simply Google trying to lock down the internet, declaring any site which doesn't have a secure connection on every single page in 'insecure and not to be trusted'. As far as I'm concerned, this is yet another attempt to force users to accept the software that forced on them via automatic update (where the software giants typically yank features under the pretense of 'new releases').

It's gotten so bad that, while I trust many 'insecure sites', I rarely upgrade any piece of software unless I know precisely what I'm losing!

After years of following such guidelines, I've never encountered any ransomware, only once gotten infected (when I was visiting my sister), though I somewhat frequently get malware attacks, which are easily controlled via the PRO version of Malwarebytes.

I am far better off than some on this site but for about 14 years I have depended daily upon doctor's prescriptions to be able to breathe. I would simply go into one part of my doctor's site and order the prescriptions as I need them. Google has now blocked the site and does not even allow me to accept the "dangers".
In this country we do not have the death penalty so who gave Google the right to decide on life and death medical situations in a foreign country?

Of course Google do not accept any messages of complaint or requests for help

As for a Cray - that is overkill for asking for medicine or reading SOL?

Actually, even quite old smartphones have more computing power than the venerable Cray supercomputers

Windows update forced on me by Microsoft

This was what finally turned me away from the MS fold - an update was autostarted but failed, leaving me with a laptop which refused to do anything until the update was completed but where the update couldn't be complete because there wasn't enough space to download the update - later I found the fail to be because of cruft from previous updates which MS kindly hid from view, occupying most of the spare disk space. So now I buy second-hand laptops at low price (sold cheaply because they can't reasonably run the latest MSWin), drop a lightweight Linux onto them, and have a good and responsive system (at least until I have Firefox running with about 800 tabs open across 10 windows, and Ffx is trying to use >10GB of my 2GB RAM causing it to thrash doing swapping). The (temporary) cure for that:- kill firefox and restart it. On MSWin - hope that I can close enough tabs and windows to be able to do an orderly restart without it crashing first (or at least hope that it's Ffx that crashes, not MSWin), then restart, then try to remember what I was doing

I'll pas that on to Hewlett Packard.
As for a Cray - that is overkill for asking for medicine or reading SOL?

That's understood, but you also have to realize that you actually pay every time you accept a service for free from any corporation. They aren't 'giving' you the product, they're marketing you, the individual, to whoever wants your info. It's essentially a trade off, with those too poor to buy their way out the ultimate losers. :(

This was what finally turned me away from the MS
What MS did with Windows 10 got me to switch to a Mac.

I can't really say "Screw them" because I still use and love Word and Excel.

Only a few problems:
a) mac are +/-10 times more expensive than windows pcs (OK so they are only 2.5 months pretax pension.) Apparently they (or the software)are designed to eventually fail deliberately

2.) I question their reliability. My first iPad would not respond to touches so they said it was me so f*** off. Eventually, after several visits they tested it and over 50% of the sensors on a brand new iPad were bust. (try to get detailed help ....... just wait and wait )

3) they have fuck-all education. I got a replacement iPad and within three days I had a list of about 15 questions. Their response was to go to one of their course - it answered 4 questions and the attitude was that I should take umpteen more courses in the hope that they might perhaps just answer the rest. In the meantime the questions mounted up.

4) they speak geekese

I hate to guess how many times I have been forced to drive to their nearest outlet and still got nowhere.

As for Word - I love it but am happy with the free equivalents; I now use Open Office.
I was marginally OK with basic Excel but loved its predecessor from Computer Associates. Basic abilities were more than sufficient - I reckoned our staff used about 10% of the functions. Dead easy macro programming (I used to do 1000plus line macros at night for the company) which anyone could learn in minutes. IN THEORY you couldn't change font size and type for specific rows but in fact you could and I did.

They aren't 'giving' you the product, they're marketing you, the individual, to whoever wants your info. It's essentially a trade off, with those too poor to buy their way out the ultimate losers.

I agree. Microsoft T and C allows them to take, distribute and sell without limit anything they find on your PC. When I had a problem they DEMANDED access to everything on my PC and, when I declined because certain files are sensitive (about international trade transactions), they refused point blank to help.

2.) I question their reliability. My first iPad would not respond to touches so they said it was me so f*** off. Eventually, after several visits they tested it and over 50% of the sensors on a brand new iPad were bust. (try to get detailed help ....... just wait and wait )

Not what I've heard. We'll see. So far my wife's and my MacBook Pros are working just fine. So are our iPhones. She's on her second iPad. The first one got old and slow. I use it to play Sudoku.

3) they have fuck-all education. I got a replacement iPad and within three days I had a list of about 15 questions. Their response was to go to one of their course - it answered 4 questions and the attitude was that I should take umpteen more courses in the hope that they might perhaps just answer the rest. In the meantime the questions mounted up.

Don't understand that. I was afraid to switch to a Mac having been on a PC since 1980. The free Apple Tech Support was fabulous. And so were the classes in the Apple store.

Actually, even quite old smartphones have more computing power than the venerable Cray supercomputers

Cray is still around and still making supper computers, Only their current models use very large arrays of basically off the shelf PC CPUs. Very large arrays = thousands of CPUs in one computer. It takes a very specialized operating system to handle so many CPUs at once, and very careful physical design and engineering to keep buses and wires as short as possible to minimize latency between CPUs. This is why Cray's are cylinders instead of rectangular.

The latest generation of Cray's are way more powerful than any smart phone or PC.

You understand that AnonymoX is a company and that by using their plug-in you send them ALL your browser history? That's typically what all proxy servers do. The only somewhat safe method is using the Tor network. Another way is by using a VPN service but just as with a proxy server you have to trust your VPN provider. Since most VPN services survive because of the anonymity they provide it is most less likely they store/use/abuse/sell your browser history.

I just call the Apple 800-number Tech Support. Although my last few experiences haven't been great.

I don't doubt it, but the point I was making was it's probably Ernest's local Apple store, as I've been in some (in the States) where they were hard for the normal people to understand, and not at all helpful when asking for advice. In essence, it all depends on who the individual store manager is, who the types of people who he hires.

30 December 2017: The Apache OpenOffice project announces the official release of version 4.1.5. In the Release Notes you can read about all new bugfixes, improvements and languages. Don't miss to download the new release and find out yourself.

With the end of net neutrality, ISP can now sell ad targeting profile. The https switch will limit the profiling the ISPs can do. The ISPs still collect data about which sites you visit but cannot tell what you are reading and sell that information.

The truth is that Google is trying to degrade profiling information US ISPs can now legally sell to Ads competitors.

Really? OO ceased development altogether a couple of years ago. LibreOffice is a fork which started with the OO code base shortly after Oracle took Sun over, LibreOffice is going well.

Some years ago Oracle was pushing the Open Office team to put more Oracle owned proprietary code and java code into Open Office, which were 2 things the coding team didn't like. The end result was the major coders within the team left it and legally took a full copy of the code with them. They established the Libre Office fork starting with LO 3 because it was exactly the same as OO 3. They quickly set about removing any Oracle owned code and quickly put out an update, then they started work to remove the java code where they code while also improving LO. LO is now up to 6.0.5.2 with dozens of updates being released with as minor revision numbers.

However, Oracle continued to have people working on OO and have released updates as well. I'm not sure where OO is up to, but a few years ago some industry magazines did reports about how LO 4 was way ahead of OO at that time. So, yes, OO is still out there and being updated by whoever is in charge of it now while the best of the old OO team are working on LO.

I just got my first Apple product, an iPhone SE when I switch to a cell carrier that specializes in seniors for half the price. I called the 800 number 4 times and could never reach a live help person. If the few pre-recorded items weren't your problem they told you to go online or visit an Apple store. The online choices didn't fix my problem and the nearest store is almost 2 hours away. Plus the store is too elite to take cash or checks, credit or debit only. Apple has a far too inflated self image as far as I'm concerned.